Free trade agreement and transport service trade

This study investigates the effects of free trade agreements (FTAs) on trade in transport services using OECD data from 2003 to 2006. Our analysis found that FTAs had a positive overall impact on transport services for multiple countries (i.e., 26 home and 56 partner countries). The resulting positive overall impact assures that, even with the challenges associated with different layers of services and the obstacles formed by generally low trade openness in the sector, the provisions in FTAs (e.g., national treatment and market access for goods and services) promote transport service trades. Our findings suggest that the provisions in FTAs encourage economic agents to increase engagement in transport services because of expanded openness of the physical movement of goods across international borders.     

中国玉米芯资源量估算及其开发利用

文章首先采用文献考证法,确定玉米芯产量与玉米产量之比值;在此基础上,采用副产品比重法,结合玉米产量统计数据,对全国及各省(市、自治区)的玉米芯产量进行估算,并分析其区域分布;通过实地调查,结合文献综述,从原料化、饲料化、基料化、能源化的角度,系统阐述我国玉米芯资源综合利用途径。结果表明:玉米芯产量与玉米产量之比为0.21;2013年全国玉米芯资源总产量为4 590万t,相当于全国秸秆总产量的4.90%或玉米秸秆总产量的19.10%。主要分布于东北地区与黄淮海地区,产量分别为1 586.61万t与1 185.41万t,两地区合计占全国玉米芯产量的60.42%。玉米芯是我国各类秸秆资源中高值化利用率较高的种类,其原料化、基料化、饲料化及能源化利用总量达到800万t左右。食用菌基料化、新型能源化利用是提高我国玉米芯综合利用水平的基本途径。多产品联产可有效地促进我国玉米芯工业原料化利用水平的不断提升。积极开展玉米芯发酵饲料技术推广与应用可为我国玉米芯资源高值化利用开辟新途径。     

The determinants of commercial banking profitability in low-, middle-, and high-income countries

Using a broad bank-level dataset and the GMM estimator technique described by Arellano and Bover (1995), this paper analyses how bank-specific characteristics, macroeconomic variables, and industry-specific factors affect the profitability of 10,165 commercial banks across 118 countries over the period from 1998 to 2012. Grouping the countries according to three income levels, we show that the determinants of bank profitability included in our model can explain existing profitability differences among commercial banks in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. The profitability determinants vary quite widely across the different levels of income in terms of significance, sign and size of the effect. The level of income has thus an important impact on the determinants of bank profitability.     

Asymptotic comparison at optimal levels of reduced‐bias extreme value index estimators

In this article we are interested in the asymptotic comparison, at optimal levels, of a set of semi‐parametric reduced‐bias extreme value (EV) index estimators, valid for a wide class of heavy‐tailed models, underlying the available data. Again, as in the classical case, there is not any estimator that can always dominate the alternatives, but interesting clear‐cut patterns are found. Consequently, and in practice, a suitable choice of a set of EV index estimators will jointly enable us to better estimate the EV index γ, the primary parameter of extreme events.     

Are microfinance markets monopolistic?

Do microfinance institutions (MFIs) operate in a monopoly, monopolistic competition environment or are their revenues derived under perfect competition markets? We employ the Panzar–Rosse revenue test on a global panel data to assess the competitive environment in which MFIs of five selected countries operate: Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Peru and Philippines, over the period 2005–2009. We estimate the static and the dynamic revenue tests, with analyses of the interest rate and the return on assets. We control for microfinance-specific variables such as capital-assets-ratio, loans-assets and the size of the MFI. The analyses also account for the endogeneity problem by employing the fixed-effects two-stage least squares and the fixed-effects system generalized method of moments. Our results suggest that MFIs in Peru and India operate in a monopolistic environment. We also find weak evidence that the microfinance industry in Ecuador, Indonesia and Philippines may operate under perfect competition.     

A neoclassical interpretation of momentum

The neoclassical theory of investment implies that expected stock returns are tied with the expected marginal benefit of investment divided by the marginal cost of investment. Winners have higher expected growth and expected marginal productivity (two major components of the marginal benefit of investment), and earn higher expected stock returns than losers. The investment model succeeds in capturing average momentum profits, reversal of momentum in long horizons, long-run risks in momentum, and the interaction of momentum with several firm characteristics. However, the model fails to reproduce the procyclicality of momentum as well as its negative interaction with book-to-market equity.     

Taking financial frictions to the data

We estimate a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model with various financial frictions and analyze how well the model explains the Great Recession. Predictive analysis shows that the model can only slightly better explain the large deviation from trend during the crisis relative to a model without financial frictions. Specifically, the risk premium shock, which is a shock to the external finance premium of the entrepreneurs׳ leverage, explains the largest part of the investment downfall during the crisis. However, the ‘balance sheet’ channel of financial frictions in the model, which structurally links balance sheet conditions of financial intermediaries and nonfinancial borrowers to their borrowing rates, is estimated to be weak. We examine alternative prior specifications for how the financial frictions enter the model and continue to find a limited role for these frictions. Rolling-window estimation provides evidence for substantial time variation in parameters governing financial frictions. We conclude that the well-known financial frictions studied in this paper are not able to explain the financial crisis in a linearized and estimated model.     

省域全要素生产率地区差异的动态演进

笔者在运用索洛余值法对我国各地区全要素生产率进行估算的基础上,利用非参数的核密度函数法和马尔可夫链法对全要素生产率地区差异的动态演进进行了分析。研究结果表明,我国各地区全要素生产率差异较大,从东部往西部呈现逐渐降低的梯度分布格局;各地区之间全要素生产率的绝对差距在20世纪80年代呈现缩小趋势,而从1990年以后呈现加速扩大趋势;同时,核密度函数分布呈现双峰收敛趋势,进一步表明全要素生产率两极分化现象严重;从马尔可夫链的稳态分布来看,各地区的全要素生产率将继续保持较大差异,短期内难以实现均衡发展。     

An empirical investigation into the gravitation and convergence of industry return rates in OECD countries

Tests are offered for the hypotheses that sectoral average profit rates and incremental return rates are gravitating around or converging towards a common value. We study data for various OECD countries relying on an econometric method able to account for residual autocorrelation and cross‐sector correlation. Our null hypotheses receive only a mixed empirical support. This is interpreted as the result of various kinds of limitations to capital mobility. Policy implications are discussed.